Ghost Story
by junealondra
Summary: Musings of Helena Ravenclaw featuring our very favorite blonde space cadet. One shot!
A/N: Hi All! This is part of the ongoing promptie-challenge I have going with my two best friends ever whose work you should definitely check out because they are beautiful, amazing, and talented writers. **Bruhaeven** and **LeRequiem**. Do it. Do it now. _Now._

Anyways, takes place sort of whenever, pre-Order of the Phoenix. The only thing you need to know that I didn't know either is that apparently the Bloody Baron is bloody because he was in love with Helena Ravenclaw and when she eloped with some dude he tracked her down and murdered her and then himself. Yeah, definitely had no idea that that was a thing until I was looking shit up about her. But yeah, besides that, I sort of just made up stuff I didn't really know about.

ENJOY!

 **prompt: ghost story**

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"Oh, bother."

I had observed the strange blonde child often; she was much more interesting than the other children.

At the moment, she was travelling from staircase to moving staircase following a pair of enchanted shoes that seemed to always be _just_ out of reach.

A pair of white trainers with pink laces, and some hearts scribbled on the sides.

She was a peculiar child.

"Oh!" She reached out over a railing and almost caught the laces before- "Oh dear."

Suddenly the halls were flooded with students, and retrieving the sneakers became an impossible task.

The girl looked at her feet, waggled her toes in their beet-red socks and sighed, "Well, off to Charms then feet." And off she went, little red toes peeking out from under her robes with each step. There was a bounce in her step, despite her attire.

I wouldn't have been so cheerful had I been in her shoes. Well, her socks.

I observed from above as the swell of students and noise rose, peaked, and then fell again, and there were the sneakers, still winding their way between staircases. I followed them back and forth, up and down. Finally they travelled up to the tippy-top of the astronomy tower and plopped down on the floor and I wondered if they'd ever find their way back to their owner.

I hoped they would.

I didn't ask to become a ghost after death, nor did I wish it. Especially not at this god-forsaken school. I had enough of the place while I was alive, but I guess it was always my destiny to come back.

I guess I know why I'm here, I only wish I didn't. The people who become ghosts… Well, it's as you'd expect; they have some sort of unfinished business here on Earth. It can go both ways of course. Take Nicholas, for example – a man who loved life, who was, and continues to be, joyous and jovial. His life was cut too short and so he came back to live and enjoy and share and teach, albeit not quite as enthusiastically or successfully as he might have in life. And then take someone like Peeves. Clearly he is angry or upset about something, but heavens knows what it could be.

As for me… Well, I'd like to think that I am above such human emotions, but if I'm honest with myself, I am here because of anger as well. The Baron loved Hogwarts and so he chose to haunt here; I chose to haunt the Baron, and so I find myself trapped here, too.

Everyday I hope that I will disappear, that I will move on to whatever it is that comes next. But every day I find that I am still here.

As much as I'd like to let go of this anger, of this hatred, I only find that it grows each day. Maybe that's why so many of the ghosts at Hogwarts have been here for so long. Maybe we get trapped in this insular world of humans and then whatever emotions we have, whether positive or negative, just grow and strengthen and fester and mold.

It was a few weeks before I saw the white sneakers again. I'd caught glimpses of the blonde child, but I hadn't noticed whether or not her feet were shoed.

But when I saw the sneakers next, they were not attached to any feet.

Instead they were hung precariously from a chandelier in the Great Hall by their laces. They dangled high above the long tables, and amidst all the melting and growing and floating candles and the swirling night sky above, they were lost.

They stayed there for days.

At times I saw a group of children point and laugh, presumably they were the ones who placed the shoes there because no one else seemed to notice them, high above the ruckus.

In a moment when they laughed and snorted and sniggered, I saw their true faces, hideous and rude and contorted and strained and so, so in pain. I saw each of them dying alone, sad, unhappy and unfulfilled.

They laughed and I hated them.

A candle floating beside me hissed as it extinguished and I wished it was them, I wished it was their lives that were ending. And with that wish, several more candles disappeared into little puffs of smoke.

Although my anger felt fierce and strong and _alive_ , it passed by unnoticed; not a single student looked up to see the darkened corner I'd created.

Not a one.

If ghosts could cry, I might have. Not even for myself, but for the girl and her shoes. I felt as though we had something in common, something sad or empty or lonely or lost.

The shoes hung there for days, maybe even weeks… time is a strange thing for me now, and I notice its passing differently than I did in life.

All I know is that it was many meals, many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, before the blonde child noticed the shoes. I guess she walked around barefoot, or in her socks in the meantime, but I can't say for certain; I stood guard by the shoes so I never really got close enough to see her feet.

But one day, one dinner (it was lamb stew with brown bread, a favorite of mine back in life), something changed. I watched from above as the rude children stopped their smiling behind hands and finally mocked the blonde girl outright. I hated them even more and I wanted to yell out, to scream, to punish their incivility! Instead a few candles went out.

But just as I heaved a sigh of despair, the girl suddenly looked up. It was as though she was looking right at me, right into my soul and her eyes lit up. I realized though, that it was not her looking _at_ me, but rather _through_ me to the white shoes with pink hearts.

I watched her lips form the words as she asked no one in particular, "Have you been there all this time?"

I wanted to respond, "Yes. I've been here all along. I've been looking after you, child."

Soon after my death, after I was summoned back to Hogwarts to haunt the Baron, I tried to run away or disappear.

I had tried to run away from Hogwarts, from my mother, back when I was alive, but I guess I never could.

I tried flying as far away as I could, but as soon as I'd reach the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the world around me would seem to dissolve into the Great Hall and the further I tried to go, the more solid the Hall would become, until I'd suddenly find myself flying circles above the four long tables.

I tried flying upwards, as high as I could, but the same would happen. The clouds, the sky, the stars would suddenly seem like they were in reach and then I would realize that they were, and I'd reach out a translucent hand and brush only the Hall's enchanted gothic ceiling.

When I realized that I could not escape, I tried to disappear. I tried to _will_ myself onwards. Most witches and wizards don't believe in God anymore, but I do. I believe that there must be something better than this life, than this death, and so I tried to will myself to move onwards and upwards into whatever journey lies beyond this. So far, all my attempts have been unsuccessful.

I have been unsuccessful with disappearing altogether, but I managed early on to will myself into invisibility. I'm not sure how exactly I do it, and I'm not sure how many of the other ghosts are able to do it. I know Peeves is, at the very least; He often uses the ability to pull pranks on unsuspecting students.

Initially I used the ability to hide from the Baron, but as time passed and I grew more and more annoyed and unhappy, I used the ability to hide from everyone.

I stay hidden most days. Sometimes I disappear by exploring disused corridors, classrooms, and section of the library, but more often than not I simply disappear in plain sight and watch the hordes of people come and go, living their lives, moving ever onward.

I make appearances on the rare occasions when I am required, which I sometimes am due to my status as "House Ghost" of Ravenclaw. Whatever that means. I'm sure it's just because of my lineage and the fact that I've been here for so long now. If they knew how I detested this place, I'm sure I would be just another anonymous ghost floating the halls.

The shoes would have seemed to have had a mind of their own. They were always popping up in unusual places: in suits of armor, in the boys bathroom, atop the potion supply cupboard, in the house elves' living quarters.

They were never on her feet.

The shoes would have seemed to have had a mind of their own, but I knew better. I knew it was rotten, snot-nosed, idiotic children who hid them.

I had thought it was just one group…the three I had observed at dinner that night in the Great Hall…. But no, it was various groups of children from all four houses. Why did they do it? What was the purpose? What was the reason for their perverse joy?

The only conclusion I could draw was that the world was ugly and the people in it were even uglier. Although I guess I already knew that.

But the girl… the blonde girl… She was different than the others. She was pure and true and _good_. And even in the face of cruelty she maintained that _goodness_.

I had never seen anything like her before.

Even the Gryffindors who like to pride themselves on their bravery and heroism have often been forced to use ugliness to fight ugliness.

But not this girl. She was special.

I waited outside of the classroom, invisible to the world. The doors burst open and the children rushed out in a chatter. From the open doorway, I saw the girl had stayed behind to speak with the professor. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I imagined she had stayed behind to ask a question about some advanced material.

I never truly eavesdropped, but from what I observed, and by some feeling of intuition, I believed she was an exceptionally clever girl.

They seemed to be talking for an awfully long time, so I gently floated inside to see what they were doing. I normally never intrude for the same reason I never really eavesdrop; I don't like to get caught up in trivial mortal woes. But just this once, my curiosity got the best of me.

"…that's it. See? Now it won't last very long, maybe a few hours?"

"Thank you very much Professor!" She looked positively elated. She turned to leave but before she did the professor asked, "Do you mind…May I ask why you need this spell?"

The girl simply smiled before responding, "Oh, well my shoes always seem to wander off. They've all disappeared so I guess I'll be transfiguring my socks into sneakers until I can get away to Hogsmeade to purchase a new pair. Although I'm not sure how long a new pair would last…Like I said, they're always wandering off."

She turned and rushed right through me on her way out of the classroom. It was a feeling like a warm breeze on a beautiful summer day.

I knew where I could find her a new pair of shoes. I knew where to find a hundred pairs of new shoes.

As a human, I came to the Room of Requirement often. It was my home while I was a student; I would study there, hide there, ponder there, read there.

It was much better than the Ravenclaw common room, which was always bustling with students, and it was better even than our library. I could find any book I needed or wanted, and even those I didn't realize I wanted, and I didn't have to interact with any other students or professors. Or the librarian.

Our librarian was a wretched witch who had it in for me. I hadn't done anything to offend her. Oh no, that was my mother. My mother and Madame Prince had been intellectual rivals their whole lives, and Madame Prince _hated_ that my mother had helped found the school at which she was forced to be a mere librarian. She had wanted to be a Professor, and had the intellect and skill to have been a very good professor, I'm sure, but my mother was cruel and convinced the other founders that she lacked that " _je-ne-sais-quoi"_ that a Professor required _._ My mother was such a petty woman.

And so the library, which should have been a safe, _quiet_ haven, was a place a dark looks and books 'accidentally' hitting me on their way from the shelves to the gnarled hands of the librarian.

I've seen other Princes come and go throughout my years of haunting, and I've never liked any of them. They've all had the same dark and gloomy eyes and I was always reminded of that cold librarian.

I found the Room of Requirement—or rather, it found me—fairly early on in my Hogwarts career. It was at the beginning of my third year. I had spent the summer abroad with family friends, studying Greek and Latin in Italy. It was a warm, wonderful, quiet summer; I enjoyed the sun and I even got a little bit tan… But my dreaded return to Hogwarts loomed over me, casting a shadow over my work.

By the time September rolled along, I was back to my pale, pallid self, as though even the idea of returning to school could suck the life and color out of my body.

This castle made me a ghost even while I was living.

I tried my best to make myself disappear once classes began. I sat in the back of classes, I ate alone in the Great Hall, I found quiet, lonely places to do my schoolwork, and I read books from the library. It was a struggle to find quiet, lonely places in such a large and busy castle, but I found makeshift spots: a bathroom stall, an empty classroom, a vacant hallway.

It was studying in a vacant hallway that I found the Room of Requirement. I was working on an essay for Charms, and I was having particular trouble finding relevant information for my argument. I picked up the book I was reading and started pacing the hallway, as though physically moving would help me find the information faster.

It was on the third pace that the door appeared.

I don't know if I was the first person to find the room. I don't know if it was there all along, or if my desire for solitude and peace was so strong that it conjured up the room…But there she was. And I loved her.

I spent everyday in the Room of Requirement, for the rest of my Hogwarts days. I never saw anyone else there, which was wonderful.

I hate that I'm even a little bit like my mother, but I have her prideful ego, and that part of me wants to believe that I conjured up the room…that Hogwarts recognized founder's blood in me and helped me create this wonderful, multipurpose Room of Requirement.

Like I said, I have no idea how the room was created, but I know that while I was in there, no one ever found me.

I floated up to the seventh floor corridor and passed by the wall three times, each time thinking of those white shoes with pink laces.

The door appeared and I passed through it, and there was my beautiful room, just the way I'd left it: A velvet easy chair and ottoman, a desk stocked with quills and ink, several hanging chandeliers, and walls lined with bookcases. There was even a pot of steaming hot tea on the coffeetable. I always loved to have tea while I worked.

It was just as I left it except for one thing. There, on the desk, was a brand new pair of white sneakers with pink laces.

I don't really know what other ghosts know or what they can and can't do. It's not like we get together and have conventions where we discuss those types of things. Well, sometimes Nicholas likes to get us all together for parties, but I normally avoid those types of social interactions.

It's sort of like the invisibility thing – I don't know if other ghosts can do it, but if I concentrate hard enough, I can pick things up, I can open doors instead of just floating through them, I can move things around. I think I've seen other ghosts pick things up, but I can't recall for certain. I don't pay much attention to the others.

It took a bit of effort, but I picked up the shoes by the laces and left the room, but not before taking a sip of the piping hot tea. I can't really taste food, but it felt nostalgic. It was the only time I ever missed being a student.

No one seemed to be fazed by the sight of a pair of white sneakers with pink laces floating through the halls. I guess they had all gotten used to seeing the sneakers in odd places. It made me even angrier with them. Apathetic little brats.

I saw long blonde hair bobbing up and down in the sea of children, and I could tell that she was skipping. I followed her as she broke away from the crowd and headed towards Ravenclaw Tower. I'm sure it was a silly sight to behold – a pair of shoes following a girl down the hall.

Just before reaching the Tower, she turned around so suddenly that I nearly passed through her. She looked at the shoes and then behind the shoes and asked, "Who are you?"

I looked down, to check that I was still invisible. I was, but she had felt my presence all the same. I dropped the shoes and began to float away but her voice stopped me.

"I didn't mean to frighten you…Thank you for returning my shoes."

"I…"

I spoke from behind a column, even though I was invisible, and my voice felt shaky from disuse.

"I couldn't find your old shoes, but these new ones should do just fine."

She took a few small steps towards me, then stopped and smiled. "They're perfect. Thank you very much." There was a small pause and then she plopped down on the carpeted floor and pulled the shoes onto her feet and tied the laces. Then, with a flick of her wand, several hearts appeared on their sides. And one radish.

She sat there a few minutes longer, admiring the shoes, and when I was sure that she thought I had vanished she said, "My name is Luna."

Luna.

I moved out from behind the pillar and made myself visible, but before I could tell her my name she said, "Helena Ravenclaw. How lovely to finally meet you." She stood and gave a quirky little curtsy.

I felt myself smile, and then found myself wondering when the last time that happened was.

Luna gave a soft giggle and said, "Thank you again for the shoes, although I'm not sure how long they'll last. I wish I could do something in return for you. Is there something I can do in return?" Her head tilted to the side while she waited for my response.

My smile became even broader as I realized the solution to both problems, and another gift I could give this magnificently strange girl.

"Actually, there is something. You see… there's this room I love. I'd like for you to look after it. Here, I'll show you how to find it."

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A/N: review? pretty please xoxo


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